Naturally, when a film as hotly anticipated as “Star Wars: Episode VII” is mired in secrecy, all we have is speculation. Will the original cast be back? Will there be more Ewoks? The questions are endless. But, Carrie Fisher and Ian McDiarmid are two people who are more than happy to take part in such gossip. They, of course, played Princess Leia and Emperor Palpatine in the series.

Naturally, when a film as hotly anticipated as “Star Wars: Episode VII” is mired in secrecy, all we have is speculation. Will the original cast be back? Will there be more Ewoks? The questions are endless. But, Carrie Fisher and Ian McDiarmid are two people who are more than happy to take part in such gossip. They, of course, played Princess Leia and Emperor Palpatine in the series.

Carrie Fisher seems particularly fond of keeping the fanboys on their toes. She had teased her appearance in the seventh film just a couple of months ago in an interview, and later at a book signing, with a spokesperson for Fisher subsequently denying the claims each time. Well, recently she appeared at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, and it appears she’s at it again.

“I like being bought by Disney, because they never wanted to buy me before,” Fisher told the Calgary Herald. “I’m glad they are doing a new movie because they are sending a trainer to my house so I can get in really good shape," she continued. "So I'm really eating a lot of sugar in advance, as you can see. By the time I really get down to it I will have eaten everything."

Now, one can really infer anything from her comments, but considering she’s probably not allowed to say anything one way or the other, you have to appreciate her cheekiness in the matter. And since we have another two years before the new 'Star Wars' film comes out, you can bet you’ll be getting many more comments like these from her in the future.

Ian McDiarmid was a bit more pessimistic regarding his possible return to the series as Emperor Palpatine. He recently recounted his experiences playing the character, but concluded that the fact that his character was sent to cosmic hell by Darth Vader at the end of 'Return of the Jedi' probably means no more journeys to the dark side.

“I remember it well because it took about a week to get me down that chute with the wires and flying. I remember saying, 'Is he dead, George?' at the time, and he said, 'Yes, he is. Absolutely dead,' ” McDiarmid said. But as always, no one is every truly finished in franchise movies. "I guess that means he can't survive and do 'Episode VII,' unless of course he'd been clever enough to clone himself. He's certainly clever enough, but I don't know if he had that idea or not."

So, Emperor Palpatine 2.0? It doesn't appear to be a likely scenario, but as always, who knows...flashbacks perhaps?

J.J. Abrams certainly has his work cut out for him. Producer Kathleen Kennedy recently said that the upcoming film won’t be as shrouded in secrecy once production starts. So maybe at that point we won’t have to deal with all this conjecture. Until then? Let the rampant speculation continue, and maybe these unearthed, behind-the-scenes pics from 'Return of the Jedi' will tide you over. [NZ Herald/USA Today/EW]